1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to resource management such as power management for computer systems. More specifically, systems and methods for delay in startup of multiple components such multiple disk drives in computer systems to stagger associated spikes in resource usage during the initial startup of each component are disclosed.
2. Description of Related Art
At startup of electronic devices, i.e., any apparatus that draws electrical power, there is typically a spike in the amount of power drawn by the electronic device. Multiple electronic devices often share a power source that has sufficient resources to support the multiple electronic devices during normal operation. However, when many or all of the multiple electronic devices sharing the single power source all start up at the same time, the power source may not be sufficient to support the cumulative spike in the amount of power drawn by the electronic devices during startup, which may lead to failure of the electronic device to startup or even damage to the electronic device.
As an example, when a hard disk drive is first powered up, the hard disk drive begins spinning its spindle assembly. The spike in the power drain at startup is generally much higher than at steady state during normal operation and the amount of power drain at startup typically tapers off quickly after the initial startup as the spindle assembly reaches its operational spin speed. For example, a disk drive may take 5 to 10 seconds during startup to achieve its operational spin speed. In large computer systems employing multiple disk drives, all the disk drives simultaneously attempt to startup at the same time and thus all begin to consume power when the computer system is first powered up. Such simultaneous startup of the disk drives causes a cumulatively large spike in the power demand of the computer system that corresponds to the number of disk drives. As the power supply is typically not designed to support the large initial spike in the power demand by every component of the system, including the multiple disk drives, many of the disk drives may fail to startup in the initial power up. The disk drive is typically hard coded to attempt to startup again several times, e.g., 3 times as may be predetermined and hard coded by the disk drive manufacturer, before the disk drive stops attempting to startup.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide systems and methods for improved resource distribution and management during an initial startup of multiple components such as power distribution and management of a computer system with multiple disk drives. Ideally, the initial spike in the power demand of the multiple electronic devices is managed so as to minimize startup failures in the electronic devices.